Waiting for IA
by Simahoyo
Summary: Jane and Maura are bored, so Angela decides what they need is a few days volunteer work at a free clinic. Guest appearances from Jordan Cavenaugh and Anne Fortier. Some bad language.
1. Chapter 1

Waiting for I.A.

(Maura and Jane are waiting to see if they can go back to work. Angela ropes them into helping with a Health Clinic–at the Parish Hall. With both brothers.)

Two women of action sat in the living room, fiddling with their car keys.

"Bored. Boring. Bored out of my gourd. I hate not working. How do people stand not having a job?, and Jane flopped down on the sofa.

"It is difficult, I must admit. Especially since I did this to myself. Maybe I could go back to the job I had before Med. School.", Maura's eyes seemed to survey the past.

"What job? It's not like you needed one. So, what did you do? Librarian? Art Gallery assistant?

Maura smiled dreamily. "Sou Chef at one of the finest bistros in Boston. It was fun. Chef was very kind, and didn't scream like so many of them."

Jane flat out stared.

"You, Maura, 'I can't ruin my manicure', Isles were a sou chef? In other words, you were a hash slinger."

"I was not a hash thrower. Take that back." Then Maura pouted.

Jane threw her keys into the air, and caught them.

"Ok, choice number one, go for a drive, and I drive. Choice number two...?"

"The 'Bodies Exhibit' is back. I missed it last time."

"Yuck! I was thinking about lunch. Was, Maura.. Past tense. We could check out all the history markers in Boston–except the battles and stuff."

"Jane, some of those are in...less than hygienic parts of the city. I really dislike rats."

"Our parish is organizing a free health clinic for the poor.", offered Angela.

"Hi, Ma. When did you come in?"

"About when you turned down the, 'Bodies Exhibit.'"

"Actually, Angela...I need something to do with my hands. When is the clinic? I'd be happy to volunteer."

"And Maura will need a translator.", said Jane, preparing to duck. Maura's tossed pillow missed her by inches. "But Maur, you said you don't do well talking to the living."

"For a few days, I can do it. But if you want to help...", and Maura used her pleading face.

"Frankie's doing security, and Tommy is making flyers .He puts them up when he's dog walking. There are so many people without health insurance. This could be their first time in years seeing a doctor, Jane."

Jane knew when to fold. "Okay, Ma. When and where? With one provision...if I.A. calls, I can skip it to go back to work."

"I still don't understand why you have to worry about your job. It's been four weeks...can't they figure out who shot who by now?"

Jane gulped, and glanced at Maura. Her lips were drawn into a thin line. Jane made the motion of combing her own hair, and Maura relaxed.

"Ma. Change the subject for Pete's sake. Gaaa!"

"Well, Father Giosia will be happy to see you. In church. For once."

"Ma, Father Giosia hates me. He always called me, 'That child with the questions.', and he was not amused. Besides he caught me and Tony Mazzoti behind the Parish Hall making out.. Stop laughing, Maur. I swear if he comes near me, I'm hiding out until he goes away. I mean it, Ma."

"Don't worry, Jane, I'll protect you. I carry sharp little items with me.", and Maura mimed using a scapel."

Jane rose to her feet, turned to face Maura, bowed her head and clicked her heels together. "I salute you, oh Queen of the Dead., my protector." And they dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Three days later, the younger Rizzolis were moving furniture, snaking tables around the parish hall for maximum privacy and access to doctors and other health care professionals. Angela supervised.

"No, Janie, there isn't enough room for a massage table there. Allow for three more feet. Tommy, the file folders need to be at the table next to the door, and put three chairs behind them."

Maura walked in carrying her doctor bag, and her purse. Frankie was walking into the same spot, so they had a little dance to decide who went which way. Maura smiled. "It's a bit confusing in here."

"Yeah, but wait until everybody shows up. It's gonna be a zoo." And seeing the puzzled look on her face, he added, "It means super busy. A little wild."

And Maura nodded. "Do you know where my station is?"

"Yes. Jane made Ma move it way down there," and he pointed with his head. "Your name is on the table. I have this weird map that Ma made me. I can find anybody."

As Maura settled at her table, she noticed a woman with long, curly blonde hair, and wearing a lab coat walk into the room. Wire rim glasses hid a slight squint, as her blue eyes perused the area. Maura dropped everything onto the table and ran toward her.

"Bonjour, Ann Fortier! Comment agréable de vous voir. Que faites-vous ici à Boston? "

"Le Dr Isles, a-t-il été dix ans déjà? Je ne vivent pas ici, je suis rendu visite à des amis, et offert de l'aide avec cette clinique. Oh, nous devrions peut-être poursuivre en anglais ... Je ne veux pas être impoli."

Maura switched languages seamlessly. "It's lovely to see you. Where do you live now?"

Anne smiled enigmatically. "I moved to Vancouver for a short time, then to Quebec City. I'm not so confident in English." She shrugged a single shoulder. "Competent, yes, confident no. I met a charming young man who assured me that there would be people in need of psychiatric help here, so, voila, here I am. And how have you been? Did you have any interesting cases?"

"Of course. I'd love to share. Shall I get coffee for us? Still black with four sugars?"

Behind Maura, Frankie made a face. Jane stood close by.

"Who is that?", Jane asked, glaring at the stranger.

"Someone who speaks French. And puts a hell of a lot of sugar in her coffee."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Look on the map thingie, dummy. Give me that." Jane grabbed the list from Frankie. "Ok, right here, it says Anne Fortier, She's a shrink. See, that's detective work."

"How did you figure that out? This place is crawling with doctors." Frankie was miffed and it showed on his face.

"The only French name. F o r t i e r. See. Now be on the lookout for Father Giosia. I'm making myself scarce."

"You are supposed to help Maura. You made Ma move her way down there, so hide out and volunteer. Sheesh. And Ma is looking for you too."

"Gaaaa! That's all I need. Ma and Father Giosia. Team tagging me.", then Jane went to Maura's table and moved things around looking busy.

Maura walked up behind Jane with Anne a step behind her. She leaned into Jane to get her attention, and Jane turned, grinning. The grin fell as she noticed Anne.

"Jane this is Dr. Anne Fortier, a friend from Canada. Anne, my best friend, Jane Rissoli." Maura held out a coffee for Anne, who somehow managed to fail to grasp the cup. As it slipped through her fingers, Maura caught it. "Still working on your hand-eye coordination?", asked Maura sweetly. And handed the cup back to Anne.

Anne gave a one shoulder shrug and half smile. "It is my cross to bear. The world should rejoice that I only operate on the mind, 'eh?" Anne gestured with the cup, sloshing coffee, and tried to stop it. " Ah, I see someone with early signs of dementia. It was good to meet you, Jane."

Jane turned back to the table. Her eyes stayed downcast. Maura placed her hand on Jane's arm, gently. "Dr. Fortier is very good at her work. She's a police psychiatrist. We met at a medical convention." Maura's fingers remained on Jane's arm. Then very softly, she added, "please don't."

Jane turned to look at Maura. "I'm trying , you know, good thought–good action. I don't want to hurt you again."

"Neither do I.", spoken so low it was nearly silent. As the two women locked eyes, a disturbance at the door made them turn and look. A lovely young woman and Tommy were carrying a movie star handsome man in a battered and broken wheelchair–. It was literally held together with baling wire and duct tape. One foot peg was gone entirely, while a rubber wheel was coming off the axle. They stopped in front of Maura and Jane.

As they put the chair down, Tommy spoke to the couple. "There you are. Dr. Isles will help you out. She knows everything.". With that impossible recommendation, Tommy left.

Maura surveyed the chair in obvious dismay. "I have never seen a wheelchair in such condition. What happened? Were you in an accident?"

The woman spoke up, bitterly. "More than two years ago. He's been sending forms to the state for two years. For every form we send in, someone asks for two more. They won't talk to me anymore. They say I'm too emotional."

Maura had to look away since her eyes were tearing up. She blinked a few times, and turned to her patient. "Do you know why they are taking so long? It seems so cruel to leave you like this."

He patted her hand. "That's how it works, apparently. I'm learning to live with it."

Maura heard Jane's, "Hmmph." behind her. She turned to Jane and whispered, "Get the checkbook out of my purse." When Maura had the checkbook, she opened it , simply asking the man, "How much would repairs run?".

The patient looked embarrassed, but this wife spoke right up." About two thousand dollars., with everything repaired. And you have no idea how much this means to us. Thank you!"

Maura wrote the check and handed it the man, who smiled at her, and shook her hand..

Maura tossed her checkbook back into her purse, saying. "Four words, Jane, single payer health care."

Jane heard the familiar voice right then. A look of panic crossed her face., "God, Maura, it's Ma, and she was last seen with Father G. Hide me."

Maura pulled out a chair for Jane and seated her, turning the chair to face away from the rapidly approaching problem. Looking through Jane's hair, she commented, "Your scalp is healthy. If you are bothered by itching, I could recommend a medicated shampoo."

"Hi, Maura. Have you seen Jane?", said Angela.

Maura stepped between them keeping Jane out of their sight, and turned to face Angela and the parish priest. "Hello. This is very interesting, Angela. Thank you for asking me to help."

"Dr. Maura Isles, this is Father Giosia. He especially wanted to speak to Jane. Have you seen her?"

"I saw her earlier. I don't see her now.. It was nice to meet you Father.." As Maura turned back to Jane, Angela leaned close enough for both to hear.

"Shame on you. Now you've managed to teach Maura to lie. Don't think this won't come back to haunt you, Jane Rissoli."

"I was only trying to help. Did I mess things up?". Maura looked concerned.

Jane turned and faced Maura. "No Sweetie. Ma might as well be a police shrink like your friend. Nothing gets by her. You know, I was thinking maybe I could get us some lunch?"...the comment was chopped short as a man walked into the room and fainted.

Anne Fortier and an older woman doctor raced to the fallen man, as Maura dialed 911. Then everything seemed to speed up. All the Rissolis stood between the patient and the crowd, allowing the doctors to work. Maura ran to join the other doctors, and knelt down with them.

Dr. Fortier was checking his breath. The older doctor was looking into his eyes. Maura looked at Dr. Fortier with a question in her eyes.

"Flushing, hyperventilation, dry skin, acidosis..." Maura pulled a black case the size of a cell phone out of her medical bag, opened it, and took a tiny plastic tube out, along with a cotton ball. The other doctor opened the tube as Maura applied alcohol to the cotton ball, and handed it to the older doctor. She swabbed the man's finger and pricked it with the metal point in the tube, squeezed his finger to make a blood drop and took an odd looking strip from Maura. The older doctor put the strip next to the blood drop and it jumped onto the strip. Dr Fortier shoved the strip in a meter and waited. Maura put the used paraphernalia into a plastic bag.

"Merde! 400!", came from Dr. Fortier.

Maura drug through her medical bag once again, bringing up an insulin pen, and adjusted it, while

Dr. Fortier pushed it into the patient's arm. By then they could hear sirens. All three doctors waited until the medics arrived.

"Diabetic coma. Blood sugar of 400. I administered insulin ..."and with that Maura handed the medic her card. "Send me the bill."

As the medics took the patient away, the doctors thanked each other.

"I think we made a pretty good team. I'm Jordan Cavenaugh, by the way."

"Anne Fortier, and Maura Isles."

"Maura Isles, oh yes, I wanted to speak to you, if you don't mind. " But her tone said, "Even if you do mind."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As they wandered away, Anne Fortier returned to her post. Jane stood nearby, watching Dr. Cavenaugh talk to Maura.

"You look like an angry dog guarding your favorite bone. I know you read body language. What do you see, Detective.?

"Mind you own business.", Jane snapped. Then she turned back to watch Maura.

"Which is the one with the authority?"

"That Doctor."

"Yes. And if you continue to glare at her, do you think you might prevent her from perhaps granting our friend a favor?"

"I hadn't thought of that."

"Those of us with PTSD often don't think.". Fortier's face showed no expression.

"Hey. Don't do your shrinky stuff to me. I've got no tolerance for games."

"I notice things, yes, but don't you recognize others with your symptoms?" and Anne's eyes bored into Jane's until she looked away.

"Is that why you keep changing jobs?"

"Yes, and moving from city to city." Fortier's hands moved to illustrate her words. " Oh, and the dreams! How can one forget those? But the worst for me is I died that day. I am dead. I pretend to be alive."Anne smiled bitterly. " I even bought a grave site and headstone for myself."

Jane took two steps back. "I push people away. Men, mostly. I'm hard to work with–crabby. Maur's the only one who can stand me half the time. And I keep hurting her. I feel like I'm drowning, and she's my life raft."

"She is not as sturdy as you think. If you hang on too hard, she may not be able to keep you afloat. Or even herself. She has come a long way for someone with her disabilities."

Jane turned so fast it took a second for the ends of her hair to catch up."What are you talking about? She's maybe a little odd, but I love that about her."

"You knew she had OCD, yes? It is very mild, and I think only a good friend would know.

But for someone with Asperger's Syndrom to finish Medical school, and go on to such a successful career, it is amazing."

"What the Hell is Assburger's Syndrom"

Anne ticked the symptoms off on her fingers. "She does not understand facial or verbal cues, such as..."

"Sarcasm. She's starting to get it. We've been working on it."

"She will launch into long paragraphs of facts what are inappropriate to the conversation."

"The Google mouth. Is that why she can't answer a simple yes or no question. Oh God, I've been teasing her about it. I'm a jerk." Jane turned away, biting her lip.

Anne touched Jane's shoulder lightly. "You are good for her. She was much worse when I first met her. And I believe that if you can try not to hang on to her so hard, she will be good for you."

Jane was silent. Thinking hard. She turned to face Dr. Fortier.

"But Dr. Fortier, do you have anyone to help you?"

A tear slid down Anne's face and she ignored it. "No. I am a danger to others. Besides, if I am dead, who will speak to me?"

"I think it's time for a little good action." Jane reached into her pocket and handed Anne her card.

"If it's too much, call me. Maybe we can bumble though this together. And I'm a Homicide Detective. I know for a fact that the dead can't cry."

Jordan Cavenaugh was in her forties, with a few grey hairs just beginning to show in her deep brown hair. Her fine bones and sharp brown eyes completed the picture of an extraordinarily competent woman at the top of her career. She shepherded Maura to a quiet corner, and leaned on the wall to talk.

" I held your job years ago. I really loved it. And I have been hearing from your people. It appears that they love you, and really want you back. It also has come to my attention that they hate your replacement. So, what to do?...What do you think?"

Maura shifted uncomfortably, and looked ashamed. "I was really angry. I said things I shouldn't have..."

Here Jordan laughed. "To my Uncle, I should add."

"Oh no. I'm so sorry. I should never have said...What I said.."

Jordan smiled. "Hey, I was young and mouthy once. I got fired one or two times. But you get my point. Go back in there and say you're sorry. Even if you aren't."

"But I can't lie. " Maura held up her hand. "No...I'm not being self-righteous. I literally can't lie. I hyperventilate."

Jordan turned to a new angle."Who were you really mad at?"

"The FBI. They took photos of me at my father's funeral, and asked me to identify everyone. I don't even know most of them. And the ones I did know were perfectly innocent and nice people."

"Ah ha. So, tell my uncle you're sorry, the Feds can screw themselves. If you do, I can guarantee

you your job back."

Maura looked mystified. "But how? I mean, doesn't the County Coroner have to approve?"

"I already have. And you really should read the name of the person who signs your paychecks. Now go, eat something, and call my uncle in the morning.."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

That evening, Jane helped Maura into her living room, and sat her on the sofa.

"You awake yet, Maur?"

"Mmmm. Long day. Not used to..."

Jane took off her cell phone went into the kitchen and looked in the fridge. " Ma said she left us supper in here. And , hey, I found one container with your name on it." She pulled out a small plastic container. "And a note for me."

Janie,

This is for Maura because she worked so hard today.

I gave yours to Tommy because of your behavior.

I told you there would be consequences. Make your own supper.

I expect you to talk to Father Giosia tomorrow without fail.

Ma.

"Awww! Maura, Ma's punishing me for today. You got, hmmm, looks like Chicken Parmigiana.

You still hungry?" The silence got Jane to turn around and look. Maura was sound asleep on the sofa. "Poor Maura." Jane put the food back into the fridge, and wrote a quick note. Then she went into the bedroom and got a blanket. She laid the sleeping doctor on the sofa, and put the blanket over her. Then she tiptoed out of the room.

A few minutes later, her cell phone vibrated. Maura slept on.

Lt. Cavenaugh put his phone down. He was still in his office.

"I wanted to tell Rissoli the minute IA cleared her. She must be out, making use of her time off."

Jordan Cavenaugh leaned against the wall. She smiled, and crossed her arms.

" After today, they'll both be too tired to pick up a phone. I told Isles to call you tomorrow."

"I still don't like that they covered up her relationship to Paddy Doyle."

"And I had a half brother who was a criminal. She seems to have barely known him. Give them to me for two more days, and we can call it community service. Deal?"

"Jordan, your are one sneaky woman."

"Huh, you oughta meet Mrs. Rissoli. It was her plan."

The end


End file.
